Downbeach towns report a marked increase in beach tag sales

NanetteG

Longport congratulates this year's winners of the Beach Tag Contest. Longport 2021 beach tags were designed by students Grace Vogt, who designed the seasonal tag featuring a sea turtle, and Jakob Brotsker, who designed the senior tag featuring the borough's iconic smiley-faced water tower.

By NANETTE LoBIONDO GALLOWAY

Downbeach towns are reporting a marked increase in the sale of beach tags over the last two years. In one municipality, the chief financial officer ran out of tags and had to purchase more.

Margate Chief Financial Officer Lisa McLaughlin July 15 told the Board of Commissioners that the city has sold more beach tags than ever before, and it's only halfway through summer. Revenue from the sale of beach tags in Margate as of June 30 was up $126,163 over last year, with total sales exceeding $396,000.

McLaughlin said the city, which shares the beach tag design with Ventnor but maintains its own revenue, sold 43,262 tags as of June 30, with a majority of the tags sold at a reduced rate during the pre-season.

Sales were up last year as well, so I think it's probably a reaction to COVID-19, and the fact that more people are now living here year-round, she said.

All three communities participate in online sales through the Viply smartphone app, which provides a convenience for beachgoers. They pay in advance and pick up their tags when they go to the beach.

In Ventnor, the city sold 30,012 tags by July 22, just 1,755 fewer than all of 2020, and had a $116,251 increase in revenue over last year's total. CFO Al Stanley said revenue generated so far this year is $390,256.

Beach tag revenue goes into the towns' general fund to help offset the cost of cleaning and maintaining the beach, hiring lifeguards and paying beach tag checkers. The money only covers a portion of the cost of maintaining the beach and helps provide property owners with some tax relief, McLaughlin said.

The cost of running the beach in Margate last year was $684,350, she said. Also, a portion of the cost, such as some of the cleaning and porta-potties, is covered under the Public Works budget.

If we didn't have beach tags, taxes would increase, she said.

Both Ventnor and Margate increased the price of pre-season tags to $10 this year, up from the $7 pre-season rate in 2020, and regular seasonal tags sold after Memorial Day increased to $20 from $15. However, McLaughlin said the increase accounted for only an additional $12,000.

We are in the same boat, Longport CFO Jenna Kelly said. As of right now, we are $6,245 over last year's sales with plenty more of the season to go.

Longport sold $226,655 worth of tags as of July 22 as compared to $220,410 for the entirety of last year, for a total of 12,389 seasonal tags, 4,009 senior tags and 644 weekly tags.

I had to purchase more regular and senior tags because we ran out this year, she said.

Ventnor